Haunting
by nakiko
Summary: Sano is living happily in the Kamiya dojo with Kenshin,Kaoru,Yahiko and his 'friend' Katsu-kun.....that is until another old 'friend' shows up.... *YAOI* plz R&R ~DISCONTINUED FOR NOW~


Haunting Chapter One: False Hopes  
  
Aloha! This is my first Rurouni Kenshin yaoi fic ^-^ It focuses on SanoxKatsuxSouzo and also has a new character! I hope you like and please leave me a review ^-^  
  
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'I cannot take this anymore,saying everything I've said before,all these words they make no sense,I found bliss in ignorance,the less I hear the less you say,you'll find that out anyway.' (Linkin Park-One Step Closer)  
  
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A soft breeze wound itself between the branches of the sakura trees that bordered the modest garden,plucking fresh petals from their slender boughs and sending them spiraling to the grass below,some caught in a winds' clutches danced across the wide veranda of the dojo.The young man lying almost casually over the edge dipped his fingers into the crystal clear water of the koi pond,watching intently as several vibrantly coloured fish scattered at his foreign presence in their aquatic home.His long,dark tresses fell over his eyes for a second,obscuring the battle-hardened eyes of one who had seen much suffering in his short life,but they were brushed back nonchantly and he was himself oncemore.  
  
"Katsu?"   
  
He looked up,fingertips leaving the water,the final droplets glistening in the sunlight as he shook them away.He gave the other man a ghost of a smile and sat up, "Sano-kun,you're back." Sano grinned lopsidedly,his eyes glittering with sarcasm, "No,I'm just an illusion caused by sake overdose,it happens to all morbid people." He flopped down next to Katsu,sniggering,a bowl of cherry mochi in each hand.Katsu rolled his eyes and barely resisted the urge to playfully punch his old friend,he settled for a light slap on the shoulder.Sano recoiled his face stricken with mock horror,he held the bowls of cherry mochi out of Katsu's reach, "Fine! No mochi for you then!" He exclaimed and began to dispose of the first bowl greedily. "Sumimasen..." Katsu said,his entire mood suddenly shifting,he averted his eyes,a fragile air blanketing the ex-sekihotai.Sano stopped stuffing the mochi into his mouth and swallowed roughly, "Katsu...I was just joking...." He began worriedly,he always forgot how incredibly sensitive Katsu had become recently,ever since Kenshin halted his plans the year before he had been even more quiet and reticent to even speak some days.Sano lived everyday in concern for him,and knew that he'd do anything to help Katsu return to his former self.  
  
Katsu shook his head slightly,as if rousing himself from a dream, "I know.....sumimasen Sano-kun.Now gimme some mochi!" He made a grab for the bowl,a weak smile in his brown eyes.Sano gave it up gratefully,careful not acknowledge how long Katsu's hand lingered over his own as he took the dish.A wave of relief flooded his body,he was never sure how Katsu could have that effect on him,to still his heart and so freeze him with fear......but it was gone for now....everything was alright....  
  
"Where's Kenshin-san?" Katsu asked between mouthfuls,his eyes never leaving the shimmering waters of the koi pond.Sano finished off his mochi and lay back languidly,resting on his bandaged elbows,the chestnut slivers of his fringe falling over his expressive eyes,his shoulders moved almost inperceptively,in a shrug.  
  
"He took Kaoru and Yahiko to buy dinner or something." Katsu nodded curtly and placed his bowl aside, "oh....right...."  
  
"So we got this place to ourselves,how about a party?? We could get some grub from Tae's place and a keg of Sake....hmm...." Sano smirked,his face lighting up with mischief, but he trailed off as he noticed how intently Katsu was staring at him,his face full of an emotion..... vaguely elusive and pointedly plain at the same time.Sano sat up,that same feeling bordering on anxiousness began to blossom in his guts, "Katsu......? Is something wrong?" The artist sighed,leaning forward slightly,a weary hand run through his black locks, "It's nothing...." Sano frowned,shifting to sit closer to his friend,he reached out tentatively to place a hand on Katsu's shoulder, "Come on,you can tell me.What's bothering you?" Katsu glanced up,a short look so overcome with reluctance,so torn it made Sano wince.  
  
"I.....I didn't want to tell you....afterall I'm not too sure it wasn't my imagination...." He began,his voice a pale murmur almost washed away by the sounds of the garden.  
  
Sano increased the pressure of his hand,a subtle and silent prompt.  
  
".......I saw him.....Souzo....today by the riverside....he was there......just watching the water...." Katsu broke off, his words consumed with trepidation.Under Sano's palm he had started to tremble.  
  
Sano's eyes widened,his mind working over the prospect that their revered and long departed master could still be alive,but he dismissed it for logic's sake,abandoning anything his heart had to say.   
  
"Katsu-kun,he's dead....you must have been mistaken." He replied flatly.  
  
(But I was so sure...........)  
  
Katsu shook his head, "You're right....I must have imagined it....I just wanted to believe that he's come back to us...." He looked at Sano,gazing deeply into his russet eyes, "How pathetic." He uttered,a hint of self-loathing in his words. Sano sighed,and reached round Katsu's shoulder,pulling him close.The older sekihotai broke,his body sagging against Sano's,hands wrapped tightly round his waist as he let it go......  
  
All the disapointment.....the false hope.......of Souzo's reincarnation bleeding from him as angry tears......  
  
And Sano sat patiently,stroking the back of Katsu's head offering the only thing he could,a shoulder to cry on.Trying not to notice how tightly Katsu held him,the warm flicker of concealed emotion burning in his chest.And as his eyes wandered to the far horizon,mapping every trail of whisped cloud,every birdsong and smooth caress of the sakura trees in the summer breeze he wondered if by some sweet miracle Katsu could be right......that Souzo Sagara was alive......  
  
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(Earlier that day)  
  
It was midday and the main Street was a hive of activity,children were playing together,weaving in and out of the stalls and passersby as their exasperated parents tried to purchase items from the many traders that lined the road.Women in pastel aprons,hair tied up into buns and pigtails attempted to attract travellers into their inns and restaurants,exaggerated claims of quality falling from their lips with practised ease.The sun hung high in the cerulean sky and the rushing river flanking the trail mirrored it's vivid colours. Katsu strolled down the street,a fresh batch of art supplies clutched to his chest.His eyes darted from left to right,taking in everything around him,not only for inspiration,but a trained caution that would not leave him.He was just admiring the verdant foliage of the evergreens by the waterside when another sight caught his attention.  
  
(.....??.....)  
  
A young man was sitting by the edge of the river,he was wearing an official looking uniform,with two short kodachi tucked into the sash.His long,ebony bangs hung over eyes as pale as a spirit,he was smiling as he watched the water flow past,but it was not a smile that held any happiness.......just.....contempt......  
  
Katsu skidded to a halt,his mouth falling open in shock, "Souzo-san?" He uttered breathily,trying to convince himself that this was just a cruel joke.The art supplies fell from his suddenly useless hands,hitting the ground with a loud crash.The other people in the street began to whisper to eachother,all eyes turning to Katsu.  
  
The man looked up,his gaze levelled on the startled artist.  
  
(Souzo-san.....it can't be you......)  
  
Katsu shook his head,feeling himself stumble back a step.His mind telling him that this was just a coincidence,a horrible twist of fate that someone so uncannily like his beloved leader should be here of all days....  
  
Katsu blinked a few times,a hand raised to his head in a feeble effort to still the torrent of dizziness that had overtaken him.  
  
(I'll find out.....ask him....the worst he can do is stab me.......)  
  
He let out a soft sniff of derision at his hurried musing and opened his eyes.  
  
"Gone......?"   
  
The riverside was empty,Souzo.....or whoever he was....had disapeered...leaving Katsu to agonise over the question......  
  
(Was that really Souzo-san......?)  
  
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(Two days later)  
  
Sano stood outside Katsu's room, pacing restlessly,unsure whether to knock or just leave his friend alone for awhile,let him work through this. His question was answered rather abruptly when Katsu pulled the screen door open and beckoned him in. Sano followed him into the small room,that had been converted from a storeroom when Sano invited Katsu to live at the dojo.It had been out of deepseeded concern for the artist,who Sano was almost convinced would kill himself without constant attention,but much to Sano's relief Katsu had forgiven Kenshin and seemed to be enjoying life alittle more these days.......well that was until.....  
  
Katsu sat down on the edge of his bed,and toyed nervously with the covers,his face pale and lifeless in the wan light from the lantern strung above them.Sano knelt beside him,and studied his companion for a few seconds, unable to find the right words......  
  
"I'm making you worry....don't..." Katsu began weakly,not meeting Sano's probing stare.  
  
Sano made a small noise of frustration, "How do you expect me to feel....?"  
  
Katsu bit his lip,turning slightly away, "......"  
  
"I don't know what to say......but Souzo was beheaded ten years ago....and no one I've met can cheat death,not even him.....no matter how much we wish he could....." Sano finished his speech,barely believing such rational words could come from someone like him.  
  
(Especially about Souzo......or Katsu-kun......)  
  
Katsu's sob escaped his lips before he could stop it.He cringed at showing this weakness to Sano-kun oncemore,but it was a luxury having someone so close and understanding to share this newfound pain with.He tried in vain to wipe his eyes on the crumpled sleeve of his kimono,before Sano realised.....  
  
"Katsu-kun....." Sano whispered his name so compassionatly,and once again his warm arms encircled Katsu's delicate body,shielding him from his own tortured thoughts and the hostile world around.  
  
(Sano-kun........I...)  
  
Katsu raised his head,gazing deeply into his friend's eyes,searching them for some common emotion.Sano gazed back,his heart quickening,and a strange rush of heat erupting on his cheeks.....a blush?  
  
Katsu felt a trembling hand sweep the sharp,ravenswing strands from his brow,settling on his jaw,the fingers feather light against his hot skin.  
  
"Sano-kun.....?" He gasped, both confused and relieved by this unexpected contact.The corners of Sano's mouth turned up in a subtle smile and he pulled Katsu's body closer to his own, ".....I'll make you forget Souzo-san....I promise....."   
  
(What am I......?)  
  
Katsu nodded,he'd known this was coming,but still the nagging guilt....as if feeling closer to Sano that he aught was some kind of betrayal to Souzo's memory.....some how.....  
  
But as Sano's moist lips brushed his,tainted with the lingering taste of sake and sweet beancakes, the fears clawing the corners of his mind fell away,all that was left was Sano's touch,the tingle of desire  
  
(Hidden so badly......)  
  
sparking and pulling him from any concerns except this moment......  
  
Katsu kissed back,silently agreeing to their feelings......a common emotion they'd shared for a long time....unspoken.....and as Sano's hands slipped past the hindering fabric of his kimono,playing across his body in flawless rhythm,Katsu gave into the heat surrounding them,uncaring if Kenshin,Kaoru or little Yahiko heard them,he gasped,leaning back onto the freshly cleaned bedclothes,letting Sano take possesion of him.....  
  
*CRASH*  
  
"Huh......??" Sano's carresses were suddenly snatched away from him,and he sat up dreamily,trying to identify the source of the noise.  
  
".....oh god...." Sano's voice was stripped of it's usual confidence,laid bare in the face of who stood on the veranda,a single gleaming sword drawn to slash the thin wall to shreds at his feet.  
  
(Souzo-san?!?)  
  
And in that instant Sano understood,all Katsu's fear had been justified......it could be no one else.  
  
Souzo smiled,his face the picture of disgust and overwhelming sarcasm,he narrowed his deathly eyes at Sano and Katsu,who still lay half sprawled over the bed,bodies tangled together,Katsu's kimono drawn back to expose his lean chest.Souzo shook his head in disapproval and smirked at them,  
  
"Miss me......?"   
  
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End file.
